Embodiment of Skill, Intelligence and Luck
Saturday, May 27, 2006

Mahjong (麻將)is a game for four players that originated in China, which part? god knows. It is a game of skill, intelligence, calculation and luck. Depending on the variation which is played, the amount of luck may vary from 20 to 80 percent (Personal estimation). In China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and other countries mahjong is only
often used for gambling. The Chinese word 麻将 literally means "hemp general". In Cantonese an alternate writing, 麻雀, is more common (the same kanji are used in Japanese). In Cantonese this literally means "sparrow", while in Japanese it means "hemp sparrow", and is pronounced mā-jan.



The closest Western analogue is probably the card game gin rummy. Both games involve selecting or discarding units (tiles in one case, cards in the other) to score points by forming groups or runs of similar units. The game pieces (tiles) and scoring rules used in the game are slightly different depending on regional variations. The game play in general is very similar in all versions, as players compete to build sets including the highest point value.

The object of the game is to build complete suits (usually of threes) from either 13 or 16 tiles. The first person to achieve this goal is said to have won the game. The winning tile completes the set of either 14 or 17 tiles.

Hong Kong Mahjong or Cantonese Mahjong is the most common form of Mahjong, differing in minor scoring details with the Chinese Classical variety (Which is the style that i m more familiar with). However, due to the difficulty of understanding and availability of sufficient players, I am only able to play 3-players mahjong for now.

3-players mahjong or what commonly known as "sum-kah" mahjong, which literally means 3 players (duh..) It's very popular in Malaysia, and Singapore. In contrast to the classical china style, the popular hong kong style, and the technical taiwanese style, the sum-kah mahjong is fairly simple, as it only involves One suit instead of three. Normally, the Circle/button suit (tong zi) will be used instead of the bamboo suit (sok zi)or the character suit (man zi). And, the gameplay will continue on and on, regardless of the prevailing wind or the game wind, and 4 tiles of "Fei" literally means "Fly" in English, will be included in the setup and served as jokers.
Joker in mahjong means in can be subsitute as any tiles you would like it to be in order to complete your suit to achive the highest point possible with your current tiles.

Each player is dealt either 13 tiles for 13-tile variations. A turn involves a player's drawing of a tile from the wall (or draw pile) and then placing it in his hand. The player then discards a tile onto the table. This signals the end of his turn, prompting the player to the right to make his move. As a form of courtesy, each player is encouraged to announce loudly the name of the tile being discarded (seriously, make some noise). Many variations require that discarded tiles be placed in an orderly fashion in front of the player, while some require that these be placed face down.

Seriously, if i continue explaining the rules of the game, it will continue on and on and on.. As it has so much to learn, and what's the point of me explaining if you are not there to experience it practically? (in other words, i m not going to explain anymore for now)

Mahjong might be a gambling tool to many people, but to me, though it can be sometimes, but most of the time it's just a very exciting recreational game to me with many elements packed in it. Really, it's not so easy to win a game, even in a simplistic 3-players mahjong. Like i said before, it requires a certain amount of Skill, suffice knowledge and intelligence in this area, and Luck, in order to win a game.



And hopefully, my mates here in Adelaide, wont blame in the future if they somehow got stuck in this somewhat addictive "game". Well, as long as no money is involve.. i guess everything should be fine right?


leaving skool f-r3d at 1:16 AM 1 pokies

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